What Happens in the Woods
by TheTenthPower
Summary: In short, the boys (and girl) have what will become known as that one weekend where everyone got kicked out of the Hidden Falls Resort and Captain Mikoshiba drunkenly proposed to Kou with the help of a feral hog. MakoHaru, Reigisa, Rintori, Mikoshiba/Kou/Feral Hog.
1. Chapter 1

**Title:** What Happens in the Woods

**Summary**: In short, the boys (and girl) have what will become known as that one weekend where everyone got kicked out of the Hidden Falls Resort and Captain Mikoshiba drunkenly proposed to Kou with the help of a feral hog. MakoHaru, Reigisa, Rintori, Mikoshiba/Kou/Feral Hog.

* * *

XXX

* * *

At this point, pretty much everyone agreed it'd been a bad idea to try and hike to Hidden Falls instead of taking the shuttle.

Nobody could remember exactly who had suggested the camping aspect of the trip, and as a result the blame was being thrown around wildly. Nagisa pointed the finger at Rei, who pointed it back at Nagisa, who pointed it at Kou, who pointed it back at Nagisa, who pointed it at Haru, who pointed it back at Nagisa, who pointed it at Makoto, who didn't point it at anyone at all and accepted the blame in an attempt to get them all to stop arguing. Haru, of course, saw right through this and felt the need to point it out for some reason, significantly lengthening their blame game.

However, although no one could be certain of who was responsible for them being in the woods in the first place, it was quite obvious who'd gotten them lost despite having insisted he knew exactly where he was going. None of them even thought to question Nagisa the Navigator, which was obviously a bad call.

"This is a disaster." Kou groaned, worn out from wandering around aimlessly all day in shoes that were evidently not meant for walking. "I knew we shouldn't have let Nagisa hold the map."

"I don't think anyone actually _lets _Nagisa do anything, honestly." Rei said dryly, glaring at Nagisa's back.

Makoto, who had been standing next to Nagisa a moment ago, walked over to Rei and Kou with a deeply worried expression. "I'm a little concerned about him." He said, glancing over his shoulder to where Nagisa seemed to be talking to a leaf.

"What's he doing?" Kou said, following Makoto's gaze.

"He's, uh…asking a ladybug for directions. Like I said, I'm concerned." Makoto paused for a second, glancing around. "Where'd Haru go?"

Rei and Kou gave him twin expressions of confusion. Makoto's brow furrowed. Haru had been here just a moment ago, he was sure of it…but now he was nowhere to be seen. Fortunately, it took Makoto less than ten seconds of thought to realize where his best friend was.

"I'll be right back." He told Rei and Kou, turning to run towards the direction he had heard running water coming from only a moment ago when they were walking through the woods. Sure enough, he soon came to a break in the trees and found himself standing on the bank of a wide stream. The water was too shallow to swim in, and he couldn't see Haru anywhere, which was a little worrying. But as he walked a little ways down the bank, a small waterfall came into view, as did Haru. Makoto sighed in relief, smiling at his friend's predictability.

He managed to catch Haru's eye and waved. Haru stepped out from under the waterfall, his wet skin glistening, making his way up to where Makoto stood at the top of the bank. He didn't ask how Makoto had known where he was. Haru was well aware that Makoto probably knew him better than he knew himself.

"Haru, next time tell me before you go running off like that! I was worried."

"You found me, didn't you?" Haru muttered, shaking his hair as he always did when he left the water. He picked up his clothes from the forest floor where he'd left them in a heap and got dressed again quickly.

Makoto sighed. "Yes, well…luckily I know how your brain works, at least most of the time. Now let's not keep the others waiting any longer."

Haru nodded and the two of them walked back to the clearing in silence. As they drew closer to the group, however, both of them could sense that something else had gone wrong in their brief absence. The muffled shouting of their friends grew clearer as they approached until they could make out exactly what was being said.

"Mako-chan was supposed to be carrying the tent, he's the biggest!"

"No, no, I _distinctly _remember you offering to carry the tent, Nagisa!" Rei said, sounding like he was trying very hard not to yell.

"You guys blame me for everything!"

"We blame you for things that are _your fault!"_

At this point Haruka and Makoto had reached the edge of the clearing, but none of their companions seemed to notice their arrival. Rei and Nagisa were at each other's throats. Kou had dropped to the forest floor and was lying on her back, breathing so heavily that Makoto worried she might be hyperventilating. Rei glanced down at her for a moment but quickly turned back to Nagisa, his expression practically screaming accusations. Verbally, however, Nagisa beat him to the punch.

"Look what you've done, Rei-chan! Now Gou is sad!"

"It's _Kou!" _Kou wailed from below. Nagisa and Rei didn't seem to hear her.

"Why are you calling me Rei-_chan _when you're mad at me?!" Rei said in mild hysterics. Makoto decided it was time for him to step in, and hurried forward.

"Arguing won't solve our problems, you two. It's my fault, I should have double-checked that we had all our supplies before we left-"

"That wasn't your responsibility Makoto." Haru said, coming to stand next to him. "Kou is the manager, so technically she should have-"

"Oh, _no. _You are _not _pinning this on me, Nanase!"

"Blaming each other won't do us any good!" Makoto said, but his words were lost on his companions. Sighing in defeat, he glanced over at Haru, who met his gaze. "Let's look at the map, Haru. Maybe we can figure out where we are."

Haru shrugged. Makoto walked over to Nagisa and took the map from him-the latter was too busy arguing with Rei to notice.

He took one look at the map, and threw it on the ground. The map was clearly only useful provided that they had kept to the path, and that ship had sailed a while back when Nagisa lied and said there was a short cut they could take.

Haru glanced from the map to Makoto, taking in the taller boy's defeated expression.

"So I guess we're screwed, huh?"

Makoto nodded slowly. "Yeah. We're screwed."

* * *

XXX

* * *

Rin was justifiably pissed off at Captain Mikoshiba.

The only reason he'd agreed to go on this stupid trip in the first place was because the captain promised they'd get to the hidden falls (and the inn that was next to it) within the first day. "The tent is just a precaution!" Mikoshiba had assured him, grinning boisterously.

And yet, here he was, sitting on a stump in the middle of the damn woods, watching Mikoshiba and Nitori utterly fail at getting the tent up for the tenth time.

"I don't understand what I'm doing wrong!" Mikoshiba said in frustration, turning the instruction manual upside down as if that was going to help him decipher it properly. "I'm following all the steps, and it still won't stay up."

"Matsouka-senpai, maybe you should take a look." Nitori suggested timidly. Mikoshiba shot the shorter boy an angry look.

"What, you think _I'm _the problem here? Well I'll have you know I've pitched hundreds of tents in my lifetime-"

"And how many of them stayed up for more than three seconds?" Rin asked, shooting Mikoshiba a sour look.

"Irrelevant. Obviously this tent is broken and I assure you I'll be contacting the manufacturers about this and also giving them very poor reviews on yelp." He paused dramatically for a moment. "But, uh, in the meantime I'm going to go find some firewood."

Mikoshiba stalked off into the woods. Rin snorted, mildly amused by the captains sheer idiocy, an emotion which of course faded when he realized he'd either be sharing a tent with both the captain and Nitori, or sleeping outside. This put him in an even worse mood that he was to begin with, which was saying something. No matter how great the Hidden Falls turned out to be, Rin was sure that it wouldn't be enough for him to feel it was worth sleeping pressed up against Nitori and Mikoshiba.

"Don't worry senpai!" Nitori said suddenly. Rin looked up to see a look of almost comical determination on his roommate's face. "I'll figure this tent out if it's the last thing I do!"

Nitori immediately began scrutinizing the instructions with intense concentration. Rin watched as Nitori struggled to pitch the tent by himself, which was pretty obviously impossible for someone of Nitori's height. Sighing dramatically, Rin took pity on the kid and decided to help him, knowing that if it were left to Mikoshiba they'd definitely be spending the night being eaten alive by bugs, which was possibly even worse than the prospect of sharing a tent.

"Gimme that." Rin said, snatching the instructions away from Nitori. "Okay, so I guess first we put that thing in that other thing…."

The two of them went to work, and Rin had to admit, it was a bit harder than he had anticipated. And by a bit, he meant a hell of a lot harder. After what felt like ages, Rin had finally managed to pitch the tent, and despite the fact that it was more than a little lopsided, he was proud of his work.

That is, until it came crashing down into a heap and one of the bars hit him in the head.

"Oh god _DAMN_ IT!" He yelled in fury, kicking the tent. "This tent is a piece of shit!"

Mikoshiba reappeared at that very moment, looking very pleased with himself. "I've got the firewood!"

"That isn't _firewood! _That's a bundle of twigs!" Rin said, now completely beside himself in anger. "You can't light a fire with those!"

"I beg to differ." Mikoshiba said, somehow maintaining an air of smugness despite Rin's lack of confidence in him. He dug in his pocket and pulled out a badge with a small campfire on it. "You see, I used to be a cub scout. And this badge is the highest honor in campfire-"

"Yeah, _no. _I'm pretty sure you were that one kid whose parents called up the scout leader and screamed at them until they gave you your badges. Nitori and I will go get some real firewood."

Nitori got up and followed Rin into the woods, no questions asked. He was like that. Mikoshiba may be the captain, but Nitori would always take Rin's side. At times Nitori's loyalty bordered on being a little weird, but Rin wasn't complaining. It was nice having someone actually look up to him.

Unfortunately, firewood wasn't just sitting around in piles for them to pick up. Rin quickly realized that if they were ever going to find any pieces of wood big enough to get a decent fire going with, they would need an ax. And obviously no one had thought to bring an ax with them on what was supposed to be a relaxing trip.

"Find anything, Nitori?" Rin called, not expecting much.

"Yes! Come look, Matsouka-senpai!" Nitori sounded excited, and Rin hurried in the direction his voice was coming from. Nitori was standing over what looked like a fire pit, filled with more than enough wood to get a decent-sized fire going. Someone had obviously camped here recently and left their firewood behind, which was an extraordinary stroke of luck for the three stranded swimmers. Rin grinned, catching Nitori's eye.

"All right! Nice find, Nitori!" He said, turning around to call to Mikoshiba and missing the blush that swept across the younger boys face. "Oi, Mikoshiba! Bring the stuff over here, we found a fire pit!"

Mikoshiba took his time joining them, although to be fair he did have to lug everyone's stuff through the woods (including the tent) which couldn't have been an easy task. He looked quite disgruntled when he arrived at the fire pit, and was still carrying his bundle of sticks. Rin raised an eyebrow at the sight of him.

"Okay…not gonna ask why you're still carrying that thing around. Can you hand me the matchbook? It's getting dark and I want to get this fire going soon."

"I've got it in my pocket, senpai!" Nitori said earnestly, pulling out the matchbook and tossing it to Rin.

It didn't take long for him to start a fire. Soon, the three of them were seated around the flickering light of a decent-sized flame, Rin feeling unusually pleased with what he'd done. Nitori had showered him with compliments about his intelligence when he managed to light the wood, which of course boosted his confidence quite a bit. Mikoshiba just sat in his corner grumbling nonsense. He had insisted on throwing his twigs into Rin's fire pit, but this didn't seem to be enough to make the captain feel worthy of his campfire cub scouts badge.

They sat in silence for a long while, but the very sudden sound of distant shouts had all three of them alert in an instant. They all exchanged frantic glances, each of their eyes conveying the same thought. '_Who the hell would be wandering around at dusk in the middle of the woods?'_

* * *

XXX

* * *

It had been at least an hour since their little brawl in the clearing, and no one was arguing anymore, to Makoto's great relief. In fact, they were walking through the woods in absolute silence. It was getting dark, and they had nowhere to sleep, not to mention that they had no idea where they were in the first place. All of their bodies were exhausted. Makoto had ended up having to carry Kou, who kept falling down. She hadn't thought to wear shoes more suitable to hiking because they were supposed to be having a relaxing vacation at an inn by the lake, not wandering around at midnight through uncharted territory.

Kou was by no means heavy, but it was definitely a strain to carry her after a while. She seemed to sense that Makoto was getting tired, because she instantly hopped out of his arms and began to walk again.

"Kou-chan, are you sure you can-"

"I'm fine. I shouldn't have let you carry me in the first place. I'm not some damsel in distress who needs a knight to rescue her." She managed to smile up at Makoto. "Though if I ever did need a knight in shining armor, I'd know exactly who to call."

Makoto smiled brightly at her. Kou was a strong person, but also kind and sensitive to others feelings. They really couldn't have hoped for a better manager.

"Oh, good!" Nagisa's bright voice interrupted Makoto's thoughts. "Now you can carry me, Mako-chan!"

"Absolutely not!" Haru and Kou said at the same time. Nagisa pouted but didn't argue. They continued in silence again for a while. Very suddenly, however, Kou yelled in surprised, stopping in her tracks. All of the boys turned around in concern. Kou was wide eyed and at first looked almost afraid, but soon her expression turned to one of elation. "Look! Over there, do you see it?"

She pointed excitedly northeast, and sure enough, there was a small flicker of light in the distance.

"A campfire!" Nagisa exclaimed, practically jumping for joy. "We're saved!"

"Hold on a second, guys!" Makoto said, his brow creasing in worry. "We don't know who these people are. We have to be cautious."

"Oh, you've watched way too many scary movies, Mako-chan!" Nagisa said, ignoring the fact that it was him who had forced Makoto to watch those movies in the first place.

"Makoto's right." Haru said quietly. "Let's get a closer look at them first. Everyone be very quiet when we approach."

Rei nodded in agreement with the two of them. "Better safe than sorry, I say."

"_Alright, I'll be quiet as a mouse."_ Nagisa said in a whisper.

The five of them made their way through the underbrush as noiselessly as they could manage. Things were going fine for the most part-Nagisa managed to keep his promise and moved more silently than anyone would guess him to be capable of. Unfortunately, however, as they closed in on the campfire, Kou tripped, which may have given away their position. The team froze, hoping they weren't in earshot of whoever was sitting around the campfire.

For a moment, all was silent. Then came an aggressive voice that everyone recognized instantly.

"_Who's out there?"_

"Oh my god…" Kou whispered. "That's-"

"RIN-CHAN!"

Nagisa leapt out of the woods into the clearing, positively ecstatic. The others followed him closely, their eyes widening as they took in the sight before them. Rin was staring back at them in utter shock, gaping like a fish out of water. Makoto noticed quickly that Rin wasn't alone-the captain of the Samezuka swim team was there, and so was another member he recognized faintly but couldn't put a name to.

Nagisa seemed to be the only one capable of speech. "Rin-chan, I am so glad to see you!" He sobbed, running up and grabbing a very startled Rin's wrists in his hands. "I thought we were all going to be lost in the woods forever! And you guys have a fire, and a tent, and food-"

Makoto noticed that Rin wasn't looking at Nagisa anymore. He was looking at Haru. This didn't exactly surprise him, of course, nor did it surprise him that Haru was returning Rin's intense gaze. They didn't exactly have the most functional relationship, after all.

Mikoshiba was the second to regain the use of his vocal chords. "Kou-chan! Fancy meeting you here!"

Rin broke eye contact with Haru for a moment, glancing incredulously at Mikoshiba. "That is literally the stupidest thing you could have said right now, Captain."

"It's just so unexpected!" Mikoshiba continued, ignoring Rin and grinning from ear to ear.

"Of course it's unexpected!" Rin barked. "We're in the middle of the woods!"

"Ah, Mikoshiba-kun!" Kou said, awkwardly returning his smile. "It's, er...so nice to see you again!"

Mikoshiba's face lit up with joy. "We just seem to keep running into each other, don't we?"

Rin snorted. Kou turned to him, fiddling with her sleeves and averting her gaze. "Hello, Rin."

Makoto exchanged looks with Haru. They knew Kou and Rin weren't exactly close-Rin hadn't made any attempts to spend time with her despite having been gone from her life for years. It was sad to witness, really, especially to Makoto, who was very close to his younger siblings.

"How come you guys haven't pitched your tent yet?" Nagisa said suddenly, breaking the tension that was emulating between the Matsouka siblings. The Samezuka swim team exchanged glances, grimacing.

"It's because Mikoshiba the cub scout doesn't know how to pitch a tent." Rin said flatly. Mikoshiba's face went a very intense shade of red.

"It isn't my fault! You couldn't figure it out either!"

"The tent is probably broken." The third member of their party said woefully.

"What's your name?" Makoto asked politely.

"Nitori."

"Well, Nitori, I think your luck just turned around. You see Rei here is great at figuring out solutions to problems."

"Yes, _math _problems!" Rei said irately. "I've never even pitched a tent before-"

Rin looked at Rei as if noticing he was there for the first time. He looked extremely unimpressed. "This loser? No way. If I couldn't do it, there's no way he can."

Rei's glasses flashed. "Nitori, would you kindly hand me the blueprints?"

Nitori did as Rei said and handed him the "Blueprints." Rei glanced at the sheet for a moment, then instantly got to work.

He had the tent up in three minutes.

* * *

XXX

* * *

**A/N: Ugh. I wrote the first part of this at like 3AM. I don't know why I continued off it honestly but there you go.**

** Anyhow, there's the beginning of my first fanfiction in a very long time. I just love this show and fandom so much I had to write something for it. I do actually have some things planned for this story and most of them are really stupid but whatever. I really wanted to write a story that incorporated all of my Free! OTP's, (with the exception of RinHaru because obviously it conflicts with two other pairings so I can't exactly fit that in).**

**(Also I'm pretty sure cub scouts doesn't exist in Japan, but they probably have some variation of it. And Matsouka? Matsuoka? I see it spelled differently so much that I'm not sure what way is right, so I guessed).**

**Reviews would be so, so appreciated and would totally motivate me because right now I feel like crap about this honestly. I'll try to update super fast.**

**-^10**


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N-Thanks SO much to the people who reviewed! I love you guys so much and I'm so glad you like it so far. **

**Anyways, here's the next chapter. (And also, I apologize in advance for the authors note at the end of the story).**

* * *

**XXX**

* * *

After Rei had gotten the tent set up (much to Rin's chagrin), both parties sat around the campfire quietly, eating protein bars that Mikoshiba had brought with him on the trip "just in case."

Every once in a while Makoto would glance over at Haru, but his expression was always blank and completely unreadable. However, Makoto was much better than most at deciphering Haru's thoughts from the little things his friend did. Now, for example, Makoto could tell from Haru's body language (his set jaw, stiff position, and shallow breaths were the biggest clues) that he was extremely agitated. Of course, this didn't come as a great surprise considering the circumstances.

Rin, on the other hand, did a very poor job of hiding his emotions. The aura he was giving off was so strong that it made Makoto want to turn around and run right back into the woods. Rin just sat there, glaring at Haru with intense hatred in his eyes-no, hatred wasn't the right word. In fact, Makoto doubted a word existed in any human language that would accurately describe Rin's feelings towards Haru. Rin was, to put it bluntly, pretty screwed up. His obsession with beating Haru had taken over his life, as far as Makoto could tell.

Predictably, it was Nagisa who broke the silence. "Hey, I've got an idea! Let's all tell scary stories!"

Makoto tried with great difficulty to smile. To be entirely honest, this sounded like a terrible idea-they were already in the middle of the woods at night, wasn't that scary enough? But Makoto decided to suck it up. It had to be better than sitting here watching Haru and Rin have some kind of passive-aggressive mental argument.

To his great surprise, however, Haru spoke up before anyone else had the chance to agree. "No. You know Makoto doesn't like that stuff, Nagisa."

"I'm fine, Haru." Makoto said reassuringly. "I think it's a good idea, actually."

Haru gave him a suspicious look, but dropped the subject and went back to staring at the ground.

"Yay! I'll go first!" Nagisa paused, looking around the circle. "Unless someone else wants to, I mean…"

"You go ahead, Nagisa. I'm not very good at this sort of thing." Rei said. A couple of the others nodded in agreement and Nagisa smiled excitedly.

"Okay then! I'm going to tell you a story about…" His expression changed very suddenly from cutesy and upbeat to sinister-or at least as sinister as Nagisa could manage. "…a terrifying creature that is known to roam in these very woods."

Rin snorted. Nagisa glared at him so menacingly that it was more amusing than it was intimidating. "Oh, you laugh now! But not once you come face to face with…_it."_

"What is it?" Rei asked, frowning curiously.

"Oh, it's…er, a ferocious…terrible…uh, scary…beast-thing called…" Nagisa beat his head around violently. "Uh, it's called the…

"What? What's it called?!"

"The, uh…bearcoon."

Rei's face dropped, his expression going from anticipation to incredulity in milliseconds. "Seriously, Nagisa? _Bearcoon?"_

"It's a mutant half-bear half-raccoon!" Nagisa said, grabbing onto Rei's sleeve. "It's bloodthirsty and feeds on human f-_why are you laughing, Rei?!_-feeds on human flesh-_" _Rei's laughter was forcing Nagisa to shout at this point in order to be heard. "-especially…ESPECIALLY DUMB JERKS WITH BAD EYESIGHT LIKE REI-CHAN!"

This really only made Rei laugh harder. Makoto stole a glance at Rin, who seemed to be struggling to keep a straight face, and Mikoshiba and Nitori, who just looked at Nagisa like he was completely insane. Nagisa had let go of Rei and was not sitting back with his arms crossed in a comically over-dramatic pout.

"N-nagisa," Rei said in between bouts of laughter. "Tell us more about-about…_bearcoon._"

Nagisa turned to Rei again and started hitting him weakly in the way a five year old having a temper-tantrum might. "It's not funny! I'm trying to tell a scary story and you're laughing at me, you meanie!"

Rei took of his glasses to wipe his eyes, finally calming down a bit. It wasn't like Rei to have a fit like that, but Makoto didn't know him _that _well, after all, and even Haru, who he'd known for ages, still managed to surprise him sometimes.

"Alright, alright. I'm sorry Nagisa. I won't interrupt again." Rei promised.

"I hope not, because otherwise bearcoon will get you. He can sense when you laugh at him and deny his existence." Nagisa said seriously. "And I'd be really sad if you got eaten, Rei-chan."

* * *

**XXX**

* * *

"So then, just when she thought she was finally safe, she heard a sound from outside the tent."

"Makoto" Haru whispered. "It's fine if you hold on to my arm, but I think you're cutting off my circulation."

Makoto instantly loosened his grip and gave Haru an apologetic glance. But in his defense, pretty much everyone in the group was having a similar reaction to Nagisa's story (with the exception of Rin and Haru, of course). As it happened, the story of Bearcoon turned out to be just about the most frightening tale any of them had ever heard. Nagisa was certainly full of surprises.

"Nagisa, tell us what happened! Did she go outside to see what was making the sounds?" Rei asked, sitting as far forward as he could without falling off his log-which so far he had done twice. He was by far the most shocked by the story's unexpected turn from laughable to terrifying, and had become completely engrossed in it.

Nagisa grinned evilly. "No. She stayed in the tent, listening as the noises got louder and louder until a shadow appeared from outside of her tent."

"You need a source of light for a shadow to be created." Rei pointed out.

"Well, she…she had a lantern on. Anyways, as the shadow closed in on the tent, she watched in horror as a hand-"

"Paw."

"Rei-chan, stop interrupting! Uh, she watched in horror as the paw reached for the zipper…and started to slowly unzip the tent until she could see the blood dripping off of its teeth from the last kill."

Nagisa paused for a minute, almost as if he was waiting for Rei to ask him to continue.

"…And?"

"And then she picked up an ax that so happened to be lying around and chopped his head off. The End."

For a few seconds nobody said anything. Nagisa was looking around, grinning cheerily. He seemed to be very proud of his story. "So? What did you guys think?"

Nagisa looked very obviously at Rei when he said this, and Makoto took the hint and didn't answer. Rei still looked bewildered by the ending and didn't respond at first. Makoto tried in vain to catch his eye-he wanted to try and nonverbally convey to him that it was best to lie, even if he thought it was the worst thing he'd ever heard. Rei hadn't known Nagisa as long as Makoto had, and he might not be aware of how sensitive to criticism the blond could be.

"Well, er…" Rei said finally, struggling with his words. "It was definitely scary. I'm just a little curious as to why you chose to end it in such an unconventional way."

"Oh, that was for Mako-chan's sake!" Nagisa said brightly, pointing to Makoto, who instantly felt his face heat up in embarrassment. "He seemed pretty scared so I didn't want to end it with the girl being eaten by Bearcoon."

Rei nodded in understanding. "I see. Well, I thought it was a very good story, Nagisa."

Nagisa beamed at him. Before he could say anything in response, however, Rin stood up and announced that he was going to bed.

"Wait a second, Rin." Mikoshiba said. "We have to figure out where everyone is sleeping."

Rin looked at him like he'd just suggested they all get high and have an orgy. "Uh, simple. You, Nitori, and I sleep in _our _tent, and they can sleep outdoors."

"That doesn't seem fair." Kou said, trying to avoid her brother's gaze.

"Yeah!" Nagisa added zealously. "Your tent wouldn't even be up if Rei-chan wasn't here to do it for you!"

Mikoshiba shrugged. "That's a fair point, Rin. Besides, it's my tent, not yours."

"Well, what do _you _suggest, Mikoshiba?" Rin spat, his voice acidic. "All eight of us cram into the tent? "

Mikoshiba's eyes darted to Kou and back very briefly. Unfortunately, Rin didn't miss it.

"Don't you even _think _about it." He said under his breath. "Seriously."

Mikoshiba cleared his throat loudly, ignoring Rin. "Well, I'd say the tent can probably hold six people max."

"I'll sleep outside." Makoto offered automatically.

"No you won't." Haru said. "Stop being so selfless and go sleep in the tent."

"I don't mind, really…"

"Oh, I'll just sleep outside." Kou said grumpily. "I'm the only girl, after all, and sleeping in a tent with five boys might get a little awkward."

"I like that idea." Rin said, still glaring at Mikoshiba. "Kou can sleep outside with…Nitori."

"No, no…Nitori's allergic to mosquitos." Said Mikoshiba dramatically. "He can't possibly."

Rin looked at Nitori, confused. "You are?"

"Well, I, um…" Makoto didn't miss the glances Nitori exchanged with Mikoshiba, who was mouthing '_say yes, say yes!' _"…yes, I am."

"Okay, then." Rin said, glaring at them suspiciously. "Nagisa, you-"

"Oh no, Rin-chan! If only you'd asked me sooner!" Nagisa said in an even more dramatic way than Mikoshiba. Obviously, Nagisa had figured out exactly what was going on. "You see, Rei-chan can't sleep unless he cuddles with something, and I volunteered. So sorry."

Rei's face turned a rather brilliant shade of red, but he said nothing. Rin frowned at them, looking more than a little freaked out. "Uh, yeah, right…well then Makoto can-"

"I don't like Makoto." Kou said bluntly. "He's weird."

Makoto was startled at first, but soon realized that Kou was completely aware of what they were doing-and approved of it. "Yeah, um, Kou-chan and I just don't seem to click. And Haru's skin is delicate so sleeping outside will give him bruises."

"Oh, I see." Rin said, glowering down at all of them. "So now Mikoshiba sleeps outside with Kou. Fine. Whatever. It's not like I care or anything. Come on, Nitori."

Rin barged into the tent, followed by a very flustered Nitori. Makoto and Kou exchanged glances, and he could tell she was trying very hard not to laugh. Mikoshiba looked confused but extremely pleased and exchanged a shy glance with Kou, who quickly looked away in embarrassment.

"Come on, Rei-chan." Nagisa said, grabbing Rei's hand and pulling him into the tent. Makoto glanced sideways at Haru, who nodded, and they both headed into the tent as well.

Rin was lying down at the very end, his back turned away from them. Nitori was next to him, and Nagisa immediately walked over, sitting down and patting the spot next to him. Rei sighed and made his way across the ten to where Nagisa sat. Haru, predictably, had already claimed the spot farthest away from Rin and had his back turned, practically mirroring Rin's position. Makoto took the only spot left, between Haru and Rei.

The tent had a bug screen instead of a roof, which let in light from the stars and moon. Makoto found it difficult to sleep, and he was sure he wasn't the only one lying awake. He could hear Nagisa and Rei having a whispered argument from next to him, so he knew that at least they were still up.

"Rei-chan, you have to! Otherwise Rin will know we were lying!"

"No, I'm not doing that."

"But Rei-chan, I don't want Rin to hate me!"

Rei sighed in defeat. "You aren't going to let me sleep unless I do it, are you?"

"Nope!"

Makoto allowed himself to glance quickly over at the two. Rei-blushing furiously, of course-had cuddled up to Nagisa, resting his head on Nagisa's chest and wrapping an arm around him. Makoto looked away and fought the urge to smile. His gaze fell on Haru, who he was pretty sure was the only one actually asleep. Makoto couldn't see his friend's face, but he could guess that Haru probably looked as peaceful and completely at ease as he usually did when he was sleeping. Truth be told, Makoto liked to watch him when he slept. He realized how creepy that sounded, of course, but it wasn't like _that_ at all. His intentions were completely pure.

It took quite some time, but eventually, Makoto too fell into a deep, dreamless sleep. And for a few hours, nobody stirred.

* * *

**XXX**

* * *

When Makoto woke up, the first thing he noticed was that it was even darker out than it had been when they'd all gone to bed.

The second thing he noticed was that Nagisa and Rei were also wide awake and grasping at each other, twin expressions of terror on their faces. Makoto sat up and shot Nagisa a look of intense confusion, but Nagisa leapt forward and covered his mouth. "Don't…say…anything." He whispered, so softly that Makoto could barely hear him.

Makoto grabbed Nagisa's wrist and softly uncovered his mouth so that he could respond. "Nagisa, what's going on?"

"It's _Bearcoon!_"

"Uh…" Makoto frowned, not sure if Nagisa was joking or not. He looked honestly scared, but what he was saying was completely ridiculous. "There is no such thing as a Bearcoon, remember? You made it up."

Rei appeared from behind Nagisa, his glasses askew. "Please, Makoto-senpai, I know it sounds crazy but we _saw _it!"

"You…_saw _a Bearcoon?" Makoto looked from Rei to Nagisa in utter confusion. "Rei, you're a logical person-you know bearcoons can't exist, don't you?"

"Well, apparently they can, because I know what I saw!" Rei snapped.

"_Shhhhh, Rei-chan!" _ Rei slapped both hands to his mouth and looked at Nagisa apologetically. Nagisa turned back to Makoto, obviously determined to make him understand how dire their situation was. "I had to go to the bathroom and I didn't want to go alone so Rei went with me. And we heard this sound, and when we went to see what it was…I swear on every deity in human history, it was a Bearcoon. Rei saw it too, clear as day."

"Did he have his glasses on?"

"Well…no, but still! There's no mistaking-"

Suddenly, there was a loud crashing noise from outside of the tent. Everyone jumped-Makoto may have even let out a very unmanly squeal-and both Nitori and Haru woke up (Rin, ever the heavy sleeper, didn't even flinch). Makoto looked from Haru to Nagisa frantically, gripping onto his sheets so tightly his knuckles turned white. "W-what was that?"

"It's Bearcoon!" Nagisa shrieked. Haru looked pretty displeased at having been woken up by a matter as trivial as a possible Bearcoon in the vicinity. Makoto, on the other hand, had gone from exasperated to horrified in a matter of seconds. Even if it wasn't a Bearcoon, there was definitely something big out there.

Haru put a hand on Makoto's shoulder in an attempt to calm him down. "It's probably only a deer or something. There aren't any bears around here…or raccoon, for that matter."

"Does _that _look like a deer to you?!" Rei said in a frantic whisper. All of them followed his gaze and saw the shadow of something huge approaching the tent. Makoto leapt into Haru's lap like a five year old. Nagisa grabbed the lantern as if he was planning on using it as a weapon. Nitori, who had been too shocked to speak up until this point, began shaking Rin and yelling at him to wake up.

Whatever it was had now started circling the tent until it found the side with the zipper. Makoto thought he might faint if he kept looking and opted instead to bury his head in Haru's chest and pretend he was somewhere else, anywhere but here. He heard the ten being unzipped, followed by Nagisa's battle cry, and then just a soft "Oh."

Makoto lifted his head to see a man-a park ranger, judging by his uniform-looking startled and confused. Nowhere near as startled and confused as Nagisa and Rei, of course. Both of their mouths had dropped, and Nagisa was still holding the lantern behind his back, luckily having the good reflexes to stop himself from hitting the ranger with it.

Rei was the first to speak. "You're human."

"Uh, yeah, I am." The park ranger said, giving him a weird look. "A truly excellent observation. Five gold stars for you."

Nagisa and Rei exchanged glances but neither seemed to be able to construct a sentence at this point. The park ranger stood there for a minute, eyeing them all warily. "You guys on drugs or somethin'?"

"No, sir. We have been informed by two very reliable sources that there is a Bearcoon in the area." Haru said with a straight face.

"What in the _hell _is a Bearcoon?"

"Half bear, half raccoon." Nagisa whispered meekly, his large eyes peeking out from behind his covers. "Vicious creatures."

The park ranger stared at him for a minute as if trying and failing to comprehend what they were saying, and then started to laugh. "Oh, the bears head? That's been there for ages. It's supposed to ward off any real bears from coming 'round these parts and messing with the hikers. Just another dumb superstition, I guess."

"O-oh, I see." Nagisa said, smiling weakly. "Hear that, everybody? It wasn't a Bearcoon after all. Heh heh…"

Makoto groaned, feeling like a complete fool. Even worse, he'd completely embarrassed himself in front of Haru. Makoto didn't know why he cared so much, but the thought of having been clinging onto his friend and burying his head in his chest made his cheeks burn. The ranger had left, and was now talking to Mikoshiba (something about a 'camping license', whatever that was) but Makoto really didn't care. All he could think about was how stupid Haru must have thought he was.

Nagisa laughed halfheartedly, obviously trying to distract everyone from the matter at hand. "So, who's hungry?"

* * *

**XXX**

* * *

**A/N-I swear to god, I am so done right now. I got this giant pop up thing that covered my whole screen-and I couldn't close it-saying that he FBI was coming to arrest me for child pornography (wtf?) if I didn't pay 300 dollars. So my whole computer was locked and they turned my webcam on and took a picture of me and said I would get four years in jail for zoophilia and child porn (and then there were a bunch of pictures from child porn that i supposedly had taken that were really disturbing) and I was FREAKING OUT. But it was obviously not real and on the fbi website they warn about hackers pretending to be the FBI and scamming people out of hundreds of dollars and even taking their credit card numbers. **

**SO I had to restore my whole computer so I could even use it again and the virus is still on it and I lost a lot of work so I had to re do it and so if your wondering why the story seems rushed it's because of that. **

**I THINK I GOT THE VIRUS FROM ANIMECENTER OR ONE OF THOSE OTHER SITES THAT YOU CAN WATCH ANIME FOR FREE DON'T GO THERE IT WILL RUIN YOUR COMPUTER EVEN IF YOU HAVE VIRUS PROTECTION.**

**I'm sorry for ranting like that but I want to make sure it doesn't happen to anyone else!**

**Oh, and as always, reviews are loved and appreciated! Sorry this chapter is pretty dumb, next one will be better provided that I don't get another VIRUS and have to rush through it again.**

**-^10**


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N- Sorry a million times that this took like a week to get up. My ridiculous computer is still completely screwed up and it keeps shutting down randomly. I haven't even been able to watch the last episode of Free, which is of course a travesty. **

**Anyways, as always thank you _so_ much to everyone who reviewed. You're all so amazing!**

* * *

** XXX**

* * *

When they packed up their things the next morning, everyone was blurry-eyed and yawning. Makoto got the impression that the only one who had gotten a good night's sleep was Rin, who still managed to have woken up grumpier than the rest of them combined. Of course, Makoto couldn't be sure how late Kou and Mikoshiba had stayed up, but it couldn't have been easy sleeping outside in the middle of the woods.

They were walking in a constant, dispersed formation. Rin was at the very front of the group, moving so quickly that Nitori had to jog to keep up with him. Rei and Nagisa followed about ten feet behind. Makoto and Haru came next, and Mikoshiba and Kou brought up the rear. Nobody said much of anything. Truth be told, it was much more like a funeral procession than a group of friends on a relaxing vacation.

It was pretty easy for all of them to blame Nagisa for their weary state, as it was him and his "Bearcoon" nonsense that had woken them up at four in the morning. But Makoto wasn't one to hold a grudge. Nagisa knew this, and opted to walk with Haru and him rather than with Rei, who was giving Nagisa the silent treatment.

"I'm sorry about last night." Nagisa whispered to Makoto, looking close to tears. "I really thought it was a Bearcoon."

"I know, Nagisa. I'm not angry at you."

"Mako-chan is too kind!" Nagisa wailed, clutching onto Makoto's arm.

"Yeah, you are too kind, Makoto-senpai." Kou said dryly from behind them. "If I were you I would probably have put a hornets nest in his bag."

"That's mean, Gou-chan!"

"It's _Kou! _Why can't you get it right even once?_"_

"Oh my god, please stop arguing!" Mikoshiba groaned, putting his hands over his ears. "I have a bad enough headache as it is."

Kou bit her lip apologetically. Nagisa, however, was generally incapable of being quiet for more than ten seconds. He even talked in his sleep-usually gibberish, but still. Makoto couldn't help feeling sorry for Rei as the blond ran back up to him with a determined look on his face.

"Rei-chan! Please stop ignoring me!"

Rei didn't respond with anything more than a stern look. Nagisa looked sad but didn't say anything more on the subject, electing to hold his tongue for once. And so, yet again, silence fell over the party. Makoto glanced over at Haru, whose eyes were fixed ahead, but glazed over as if he was in some kind of dream sequence. _'Imagining he's back in the pool, no doubt' _Makoto thought. The image his mind conjured up made him smile. Haru was never happier than he was in the water, never more at ease. Makoto was pretty sure by now that Haru had been a dolphin in a previous life. A perpetually sullen looking dolphin, if such a thing existed.

One thing Makoto found himself wondering often was whether or not Haru ever thought of him in any length (though perhaps not as often, or as extensively). It was always so difficult for Makoto to tell if Haru felt as strongly about their friendship as he did. He knew, of course, that Haru cared about him deeply, as they'd been inseparable since practically the day they met. But Haru wasn't a man of many words. It was his actions that let Makoto know that he valued their relationship.

Despite all of this, Makoto couldn't help but occasionally worry that Haru was just tolerating him rather than actively seeking out his company. After all, it was usually Makoto who called him up to get together (or simply showed up at his house, as was often the case). Haru was, by nature, not one to freely express his emotions, so it was almost impossible to know for sure whether he was content or not. But most of the time, Makoto he didn't allow himself to be deluded by such thoughts because he knew they were just the products of an overly-active amygdala. If Haru was irritated by Makoto's constant presence, he would have said something by now.

"Makoto?"

"Mph?" Makoto snapped out of his reverie to see Haru staring at him. "Sorry. I must have zoned out there for a second."

Makoto started feeling quite embarrassed as Haru fixed him with that soul-searching look of his. He knew it was stupid-obviously Haru couldn't know what Makoto had been thinking. And even if he _could _read minds, it wasn't like it was a big deal or anything. Makoto was sure that it was perfectly normal for him to get lost in thoughts that just so happened to be about Haru every once in a while.

'_More like once a minute…'_

Frustrated with the direction in which his thoughts were turning, Makoto looked around aimlessly, trying to appear completely unaffected. But deep down he couldn't deny that something had changed.

He just couldn't figure out what that something was.

* * *

** XXX**

* * *

To say that Rin was in a bad mood would have been a colossal understatement.

He had spent the greater part of the night pretending to be asleep, while he was really just lying awake in discomfort, feeling very sorry for himself and wishing wholeheartedly that he'd gone with his gut and stayed home. And then there was that whole fiasco with the Park Ranger, which was a pretty good example of one of the many reasons he wasn't friends with Nagisa anymore.

On top of that, he'd had to worry about Kou, who was out there alone with a guy she barely knew. He felt a wave of guilt pass over him at the thought. She was his_ sister_, after all. It should have been him out there with her, not Mikoshiba! Rin had tried to tell himself that the reason he was ignoring her was because she didn't want his attention anyways, but he knew that was bullshit. Hadn't Kou been trying to reach him almost every day since he got back? Hadn't she gone out of her way to become Iwatobi's manager just so she would get the chance to see him at swim meets?

Rin wasn't proud of how he treated Kou. But he'd already decided that reaching his goal of surpassing Haru and becoming an Olympic swimmer was the most important thing in his life. Caring about people made him weak. He couldn't afford to care about anyone.

For some reason, Nitori came to mind, and Rin thought about how much the younger boy looked up to him. _'If only he knew how screwed up I really am. He'd probably never speak to me again.'_

As if on command, Nitori chose that moment to interrupt Rin's thoughts. "Matsouka-senpai? Is everything alright?"

"Yeah." Rin murmured, trying not to let any emotion seep through the cracks in his carefully maintained careless tone. "Just thinking."

"About what?"

"Stuff."

"What kind of stuff?"

"Just stuff, okay?" Rin said, growing steadily more annoyed. "You ask way too many questions."

Nitori gave him a guilty look that actually made Rin feel bad about giving him a hard time. It's not like the kid was trying to be nosy-he genuinely cared about whatever was on Rin's mind.

"It's my sister, mostly." Rin said, frowning in confusion as soon as he had spoken. He hadn't really even meant to say anything, the words just sort of slipped out.

"Oh." Nitori said, looking happy that Rin was actually talking to him. "Is she alright?"

Rin shrugged. "I don't know. We don't talk very much. I mean, she tries…" Nitori didn't interrupt, even when Rin paused for a long time, choosing his words carefully. "I chose swimming over family a long time ago."

"Is that also why you and…and Haru… aren't friends anymore?" Nitori asked meekly, obviously afraid that Rin would push him away the second Haru was mentioned. But Rin surprised both of them.

"That's one reason, I guess." Rin said. "There are others, though."

Nitori seemed to sense that Rin was done talking, and wanted to be left to his thoughts. Rin appreciated that about Nitori-he was persistent, but never pushy. They walked together in silence for a long time-Rin couldn't be sure of exactly how much time had passed-until Nitori stopped in his tracks, grabbing Rin's arm.

"Matsouka-senpai, look!"

Rin followed Nitori's gaze. Sure enough, about thirty yards away there was a small light shining through the canopy of trees. The happiness Rin might have felt upon realizing they had finally arrived was drowned out by a loud shriek of joy that could only have come from Nagisa.

* * *

**XXX**

* * *

Makoto jumped about a foot straight in the air when Nagisa's scream pierced the deafening silence.

Rei, who had unfortunately been walking right beside Nagisa, hit his head on a branch and collapsed on the ground in an awkward, painful-looking position. Nagisa immediately clamped a hand over his mouth, looking horrified and concerned.

"Oh no! Rei-chan, are you okay? I didn't mean to…to-"Nagisa knelt down and helped Rei stand up. Luckily, the only thing that seemed to be hurt was Rei's pride, which happened on a daily basis anyway.

Rei groaned and opened his eyes, blinking rapidly in confusion. "Nagisa, where are my glasses?"

"Oh, um…" Nagisa scanned the ground, grimacing when his gaze fell upon what used to be Rin's glasses. They were reduced to a pile of glass and metal frame, and it was obvious there was no way of fixing them. "Oh no…Rei-chan, I, uh…I think they're kinda…broken."

"_WHAT?!"_

Nagisa flinched and stepped away from the deeply distressed Rei. "I'm really sorry, I-"

"Please don't say anything, Nagisa." Rei said stiffly, eyes closed.

Makoto was sure that if Rei had his glasses on, he would have instantly taken his words back upon seeing Nagisa's expression. Normally, Nagisa and Rei got along-they bickered, of course, and Nagisa teased him constantly, but it was never mean spirited. This trip was obviously putting a strain on their relationship.

"Why don't you give me your hand?" Nagisa suggested timidly after a few seconds. "I'll make sure you don't walk into a tree or anything."

"I'm not _blind." _Rei said. "I'm perfectly capable of walking by my-"

Rei left his sentence hanging as he tripped over a log that had fallen over the path. Nagisa managed to catch him before he hit the ground for the second time in under a minute, and after that Rei didn't complain when Nagisa refused to let go of his hand.

Makoto turned his attention back on the path in front of them. Sure enough, not too far away, there was a small light that marked a break in the trees. He could practically feel the relief radiating off of Haru. Makoto knew that it had been especially hard for Haru to be stuck in such close quarters as Rin, only to be completely ignored. Hell, it'd been awkward for Makoto as well-this was the first time in years he'd spent any real length of time with his old teammate.

Everybody had sped up their pace upon realizing they were finally closing in on their joint destination. Nagisa was practically dragging Rei along beside him, and Rin's strides were so long that Nitori had to run just to keep up with him. The light was so close, but to Makoto it still felt like ages until they finally broke out of the woods and into the blinding sunlight.

For a few seconds, Makoto couldn't see anything. After blinking quite a bit his eyes adjusted to the light, and when he finally was able to look around, he gasped in awe of the scene before him.

"Oh my god!" Kou exclaimed, rushing in front of the group and pulling Mikoshiba along with her. "Isn't it beautiful, Seijuro-kun?"

Out of his peripherals, Makoto saw Rin's eye twitch when Kou called Mikoshiba 'Seijuro-kun.' He opened his mouth to presumably comment on it, but Nagisa's squeal of delight cut him off.

"It's even better than I thought it would be! Look at that waterfall, Haru-chan! Isn't it amazing?"

Makoto glanced at Haru, smiling when he saw the look of complete wonder that had taken the place of his friend's perpetually bored expression. As Haru gazed longingly at the waterfall, Makoto remembered the time they'd all been stranded on an island and Nagisa had asked Haru if he'd ever been in love. Makoto had been so relieved when Haru's "great love" had turned out to be a waterfall and not some girl from school or something.

'_Relieved. Relieved about what? It's not like Haru's love life is any of my business…'_

Frustrated, Makoto shook the thought out of his head. Instead, he focused his attention once again on the picturesque scene in front of him. "Wait a second…where's the inn?"

"It's on the lake, next to the waterfall." Haru said, pointing. "See?"

Makoto nodded. He had been so focused on the natural wonders that were surrounding him that he had looked over the small inn, which as Haru had said was resting on the crystal waters of the lake.

"What are you guys waiting for? Let's go!" Nagisa took off down the path, dragging a flustered, protesting Rei behind him.

Mikoshiba and Kou exchanged glance, then with a smile followed Nagisa and Rei, hand in hand. Rin let out a groan of annoyance and quickened so that he was right behind the pair (Nitori at his heels, as always). Makoto looked at Haru, who returned his gaze after a moment with a small smile and nodded. Together, they embarked on the walk from the edge of the woods to the lake.

It didn't take nearly as long as Makoto had expected for them to reach the inn. As they neared the front doors, Makoto got a better look at the architecture and was impressed. He knew that it hadn't been built too long ago, but nevertheless it had a very traditional Japanese feel to it. It reminded him vaguely of a temple he used to visit on new year's day when he was younger. '_There was a koi pond in that temple…Haru probably would have tried to jump in it if I ever took him.'_

As they finally reached the front steps, Nagisa stepped in front of everyone, a very dramatic look on his face and a pose to match it. "All right everyone…Before we go any further I would like to admit that it was me who proposed this trip."

"We knew that all along, Nagisa." Rei said wearily.

"And as such, I think it's my right to the empire suite."

Kou, who had been preoccupied with sorting out her luggage, looked up upon hearing Nagisa's proposal. "Did I hear that correctly? You think it's _your_ right to the empire suite?"

"Yep."

"If it wasn't for you, Nagisa, we'd have been here yesterday!" Kou said angrily. "Besides, we only have one other room. You can't sleep in there all by yourself."

Nagisa grinned. "I wasn't planning on it. You don't mind sharing a bed with me, do you Rei-chan?"

Rei's face turned a deep shade of crimson. "Well, I...I-"

"Great! So Rei and I will take that room, and Haru, Mako, and Gou can take the other one." Nagisa smiled brightly in spite of their less than enthusiastic expressions. However, as no one seemed to be able to think of a better arrangement, everyone reluctantly gave in to Nagisa. Rin, who had been shooting them disapproving looks off to the side, took it upon himself to ring the doorbell.

"Makoto, I want to go swimming now." Haru said, eyeing the lake as they waited on the threshold.

"We need to check into our rooms first. Then you can go swimming."

Haru grunted in impatience. Makoto suppressed a smile with very little success.

They all shifted in place awkwardly for about a minute before the large doors swung open and an old man stood before them, squinting in the sunlight. "What're you kids doin' here?"

"Uh...we have reservations-" Makoto was cut off as the old man waved his cane in the air, howling in distress.

"Kaito sent you, didn't he?! That bastard's been after my land for fourty years! Get off my property before I rupture your spleens! I'm not going to stand for-"

"Grandfather!" A young woman's voice came rising from behind him. The old man turned around as a girl who looked to be in her late teens rushed to the door, a horrified look distorting an otherwise pretty face. "How many times must I tell you not to answer the door?"She slipped past him until she stood directly in front of Makoto and the others.

"I'm so sorry!" She said, bowing. "My grandfather gets a little confused at times. Please come in."

The eight of them marched through the door in single-file. Makoto was not surprised to find that the inside of the inn matched the traditional feel of the outside. However, it was difficult for him to fully appreciate it while he was under the old man's intense glare. The young girl seemed to sense his discomfort, and took her grandfather by the arm.

"Why don't you go find mother?" She suggested kindly. The old man fixed them with one last glower before stalking off, muttering threats under his breath. The young girl turned around, smiling at them. "My name is Kiyoko. I'm the daughter of the innkeepers."

Makoto smiled, gesturing first to himself, then to Haru as he introduced them both. "I'm Makoto. This is Haru."

"And I'm Nagisa!" Nagisa chirped happily."And this is Gou!"

_"Kou!"_

Kiyoko raised an eyebrow very slightly. "I see. It's lovely to meet you all."

Makoto noticed suddenly that as she turned, her eyes flickered to Haru. It was very clearly a look of interest-not just polite interest, but real interest.

It wasn't often that Makoto disliked people for no reason. Nevertheless, he found himself glaring at Kiyoko's back, wishing that it had been someone other than a pretty teenage girl who had shown up at the door.

* * *

**XXX**

* * *

**A/N-This isn't really an exciting chapter, I know. It's more of a bridge. The story's going to really pick up in the next chapter. If all goes well I'll have it up by tomorrow or the day after. **

**(Also, there's a chance that sometime in the future the rating may change. I haven't decided yet, but my friend thinks I should go all out, which naturally would make this an M-rated story. If you have any strong feelings one way or the other please tell me because ultimately it's up to you guys).**

**Reviews are loved, and thank you for reading! **


End file.
